The Addams Family is a platform game based on the 1991 movie of the same name released by Ocean Software in 1992. The game was released for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, Super NES, Amiga and Atari ST.
Ocean released several other versions of the game for other platforms, featuring different levels and gameplay. One version was released for the Sega Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Game Gear, with the latter ported by Acclaim Entertainment. A third title was developed for the Game Boy, and a fourth was produced for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computers.
In all versions, players control Gomez Addams as he attempts to rescue other members of the Addams family.
The Addams Family's lawyer, Tully Alford, has taken control of their Gothic mansion and imprisoned Morticia Addams, Pugsley Addams, Wednesday Addams, Granny and Uncle Fester. The player controls Gomez Addams as he explores the various rooms in the mansion, locating items and battling monsters, until he has located all of the lost family members.
The game follows the Addams Family father and husband, Gomez Addams, as he attempts to save the members of his family who have been kidnapped. They have been stowed away in various locations in the mansion and are protected by a boss of some sort. The manservant Lurch and the severed hand Thing are the only characters not to be kidnapped. Thing will provide hints on gameplay whenever Gomez finds one of his red boxes marked with an 'A' for 'Addams'.
Gomez starts outside the front door of the mansion. Inside the house, Gomez can move from level to level in basically any order. The player will soon discover that the mansion is full of secrets, hidden passageways and side levels and bosses (for the purpose of increasing Gomez's health).
Gomez dispatches enemies by simply jumping on their heads (similar to the Super Mario games). He can also find objects to throw at them, such as golf balls.
The game did not have a save system but, instead, bore a password system. Through progression of the game, the player would receive passwords, enabling him or her to start where they left off.
Reviews are mixed for the game with the Amiga and the SNES versions reaching scores of up to 95%, while the versions for the NES and Game Boy received significantly lower scores. It has been commented that the movie licence saves the game from becoming a "boring Mario clone". Mega advised readers to "watch a tree grow or something instead".
Ocean released a very similar version for the NES, Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System (the latter two developed by Arc Developments rather than Oceansoft).It also featured Gomez Addams looking for his family in the mansion, as well as many of the same themed-locations. It was ported in 1993 with different graphics, different layout and less linear gameplay. For example, if the player had freed Granny, she would fix her "fog machine" to provide one of the items necessary to free Pugsley.
Developed by
Ocean Software Ltd.
Released
1993
Also For
NES, SEGA Master System
Published by
Flying Edge, Inc.
Misc
Licensed
Perspective
Side view
Genre
Action
Gameplay
Platform
Visual
2D scrolling
Description
The Addams Family is a side-scrolling platformer based on the movie of the same name. The player takes the role of Gomez who searches for his missing family members. To find them he has to explore six different parts of the mansion, e.g. the woods, which are basic platform levels: the player moves from left to right while jumping a lot and avoiding enemies. Some of them can be dispatched of by a jump on their heads.
The main difference to the other versions of this game is a unique level design. There is also a life meter which allows to get hit more often before dying.
From Mobygames.com. Original Entry